Cycling is enjoying a huge renaissance in London. Cycle journeys have more than doubled in the last five years, new routes, maps and bike parks appear every month, and at least two LCA people now cycle to work every day! Now, in July 2007, London is to host the grand opening stage of the Tour de France.

The announcement by the Mayor of this event, one of the biggest in the world’s sporting calendar, called for a significant piece of communications, stakeholder and event planning work. Which is where LCA got involved.

Working with the Special Projects and Press Office teams at TfL, LCA’s brief was broad, including traditional media strategy and implementation work but also encompassing marketing work and managing the actual announcement of the Tour itself.

We ended up seconding an Account Manager and Account Executive into the project for nearly 5 days a week (in total per week), who were between them responsible for pulling together a communications and marketing strategy, setting up the website www.tourdefrancelondon.com and helping develop leaflets, marketing and other materials, as well as managing stakeholders.

Final confirmation that the Tour was indeed coming to London was made amid huge excitement at an announcement attended by 500 stakeholders and 120 journalists. LCA wrote the speeches, briefings for all senior stakeholders, and helped co-ordinate press offices across the GLA family.

The Mayor’s announcement secured over 20 pieces on UK TV, over 40 on radio and more than 100 articles in local, national, international and trade press – and it continues to excite as the real task now begins: actually staging the Grand Départ in one of the most dramatic, spectacular, complex and crowded locations in the world – the streets of Central London.

We have continued to work with TfL on cycling, targeting less conventional media such as lifestyle magazines and online publications to reach ‘hard to convert’ would-be two-wheelers and spread the message beyond the usual channels. We are also working with Olympic gold medallist Bradley Wiggins, who is London’s official Cycling Ambassador.